Award Nominations

How to Nominate

1. Visit https://awards.pcma.org/
2. Select “Register” or “Log In” on the right-hand side. If you have not logged in to this site before, you will need to register a new account; PLEASE NOTE: this login is not linked to your username/password for pcma.org.
3. Register and/or login;
4. Select the “My Dashboard” tab at the top of your screen;
5. Select nomination category in the drop down menu under “My Applications”
6. Complete the nomination and submit – your nomination will show its status as “DRAFT” until the nominee completes the application. The deadline for the nominee to complete the application is October 31, 2024.

The PCMA Foundation annually recognizes our colleagues with distinguished lifetime career accomplishments and significant contributions to the business events industry. As few as one honoree, or as many as three will be celebrated annually; individuals must be or have been a business event strategist, supplier or educator. Individuals do not need to be current members of PCMA.

Please be prepared to answer the following questions for your nomination:

• Describe the qualities and attributes that make the nominee an ideal candidate for this award.
• How has this individual contributed to the professional development of others?
• Describe your professional relationship with the nominee.
• Please provide any additional information you would like to share with the committee

Honoree should:

• Demonstrate leadership through their roles within PCMA, the PCMA Foundation and/or Chapters
• Contribute to the advancement of the Business Events Industry
• Demonstrate leadership within their own organization
• Contribute to the professional development of others

Nominations are evaluated and scored by the Awards Committee based on the below criteria:

• Professional Excellence qualities and attributes – 25%
• Contributions to the Industry – 25%
• Professional and Volunteer achievements – 25%
• Contributions to the Professional Development of others – 25%

The PCMA Foundation annually recognizes exceptional individuals across the business events industry and their significant contributions to the industry. This year, we will be introducing the recognition of teams in several of our Professional Excellence Awards categories. All categories and criteria are included below. Nominations are now open.

Self-nominations are accepted. Nominee cannot be a current member of the PCMA Board of Directors and Trustees. Nominations cannot be submitted for individuals working at the same organization.

Please be prepared to answer the following questions for your nomination:

• Describe your professional relationship with the nominee
• Describe the attributes and achievements in the past year that make the nominee an ideal candidate for this award
• Please provide any additional information you would like to share with the committee

Nominations are evaluated and scored by the Awards Committee based on the below criteria:

Body of work over 1 year period – 25%
Professional excellence qualities and attributes – 25%
Professional achievements – 25%
Volunteer achievements – 25%

Formerly the Community Advocate of the Year award. This award aims to recognize an individual, team or group making a positive difference through their work in the business events industry.

Who can be nominated:

• Individual, team, or group
• Any role/title is eligible to be nominated for this award

Nominee should:

• Create and execute a program through an event that gives back to a local community or the broader industry – programs can represent sustainability, innovation, advocacy, charitable work, etc.
• Demonstrate success through outcomes – financial, social impact, etc.
• Implement a program that aligns with PCMA’s mission of driving social and economic transformation through business events

Each year the PCMA Foundation recognizes exceptional individuals across the business events industry for their significant contributions to their chapter or region.

Who can nominate/be nominated:

• Individual
• PCMA Chapter or Region includes any of the 17 NA chapters, or EMEA, LATAM, or APAC regions
• Nominations can only be submitted by an active member of PCMA
• Nominee must be an active member of PCMA

Nominee should:

• Demonstrate a significant contribution to chapter or region
• Provide exceptional service to chapter or region through time, new member growth, thought leadership, successful collaborations or partnerships, event design, etc.

This award recognizes an individual business event organizer who has demonstrated exceptional event strategy and execution.

Who can be nominated:

• An individual business event organizer
• Business event organizer responsible for the leadership, design and delivery of an event
• Any level within an organization (does NOT need to have a VP, SVP, or C-level title to qualify)
• Examples: VP Events, Director/Manager of Meetings/Conferences/Events, Independent Event Organizer, Director/Manager of Event Education, President/Founder, Chief Events Officer, etc.

Nominee should:

• Demonstrate professional excellence in all business interactions
• Seek and execute solutions to event challenges
• Evolve and improve business events year over year, leading to positive outcomes
• Demonstrate adaptability and thought leadership
• Value and respect vendor/supplier relationships

This award recognizes an individual business event supplier who has demonstrated exceptional leadership and service to their clients.

Who can be nominated:

• An individual
• Business event supplier responsible for supporting the successful delivery of events
• Examples: Manager/Director/VP Sales or Client Services, Business Development, Industry Relations, Speaker Bureau, Consultant, etc.

Nominee should:

• Demonstrate professional excellence by anticipating and exceeding clients’ needs
• Balance client/employer needs and costs effectively
• Partner with clients to create solutions and costs effectively
• Create positive business outcomes for your organization
• Demonstrate adaptability and thought leadership

This award recognized industry trailblazers who represent diverse sectors of the business events community. This award will recognize an individual who has made significant contributions to their organization or a program that advances diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging and/or accessibility in the industry.

Who can be nominated:

• An individual
• Any role/title is eligible to be nominated for this award

Nominee should:

• Demonstrate a positive impact on a marginalized community through a groundbreaking activity
• Emphasize diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging and/or accessibility through events/activities or reshaping/redefining culture of business events and outcomes
• Demonstrate leadership and/or mentorship for diverse industry professionals

Formerly the Event Designer of the Year award.

This award aims to recognize an individual or a team for their unique and innovative ideas implemented through experience design.

Who can be nominated:

• Individual or Team
• Business event organizer, supplier, team, or an organizer/supplier partnership responsible for successful experience design
• Category includes experience design through stage sets, educational delivery, digital and in-person experience, etc.

Nominee should:

• Develop and showcase new trends in experience design with a focus on participant engagement
• Work within event budget to create innovative experiential design

This award aims to recognize an individual business event organizer or a team of business event organizers who have demonstrated exceptional event strategy and execution for digital events. These are the professionals who transcend geographical borders, balancing event integration with engagement in either face-to-face extensions or standalone digital events.

Who can be nominated:

• Individual or Team
• Business event organizer(s) responsible for the overall leadership, design and delivery of a digital event
• Any level within and organization (does NOT need to have VP/SVP/ or C-level title to qualify)
• Examples: VP Events, Director/Manager of Meetings/Conferences/Events, Independent Event Organizer, President/Founder, Chief Events Officer, etc.

Nominee should:

• Demonstrate professional excellence in all business interactions
• Seek and execute solutions to digital event challenges
• Evolve and improve digital events year over year, leading to positive outcomes
• Demonstrate adaptability and thought leadership
• Value and respect vendor/supplier relationships

View previous Honorees & Finalists